The nearest tribe to Campbell University is the Coharie, whose headquarters are located near the Sampson and Harnett county line. Descendants of the Neusiok Indians, the Coharie first settled along the Little Coharie River nearly 300 years ago and today are one of eight state-recognized tribes in North Carolina. Over the span of two weeks in November — in commemoration of National Native American Heritage Month — Campbell University hosted a Coharie speaker who spoke to social work students about cultural awareness, and it hosted a heritage event in the student union that included traditional dance performances while inviting students and faculty to take part. Those events, coupled with the commission’s recent meetings and plans for a training program at Campbell for state tribal leaders, have led to a Native American presence on campus previously unseen. Our state’s eight tribes came together in 1971 with the General Assembly to form the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs, ...